Faith Interface

Patricia Churchland on Neuroscience & Morality

Brain Science Podcast Episode 81 marks the return of philosopher Patricia Churchland, who was first interviewed back in Episode 55. This conversation with BSP host Dr Ginger Campbell focuses on her latest book, Braintrust: What Neuroscience Tells Us about Morality. We discuss the historical background and contrast Churchland’s approach to that of Sam Harris in [...]

Recommended Reading: “Aping Mankind” (Raymond Tallis)

Aping Mankind: Neuromania, Darwinitis and the Misrepresentation of Humanity   Author(s): Raymond Tallis   ISBN: 1844652726 ISBN-13: 9781844652723 Publication Date: 30 Jun 2011 Pages: 400 (234 x 156mm) Format: Hardback In a devastating critique Raymond Tallis exposes the exaggerated claims made for the ability of neuroscience and evolutionary theory to explain human consciousness, behaviour, culture and [...]

Recommended Reading: “Where The Conflict Really Lies” (Alvin Plantinga)

Where the Conflict Really Lies: Science, Religion, and Naturalism (Emeritus Professor Alvin Plantinga) ISBN13: 9780199812097 ISBN10: 0199812098 Oxford University Press, Hardback, 376 pages (Nov 2011) This book is a long-awaited major statement by a pre-eminent analytic philosopher, Alvin Plantinga, on one of our biggest debates — the compatibility of science and religion. The last twenty [...]

I’m currently reading: “Neuroscience, Psychology & Religion”

Neuroscience, Psychology, and Religion: Illusions, Delusions, and Realities about Human Nature by Malcolm A. Jeeves View all my reviews   Neuroscience, Psychology, and Religion: Illusions, Delusions, and Realities about Human Nature (Templeton Science and Religion Series) by Malcolm A. Jeeves, Warren Brown Jr. Paperback, 208 pages Published March 1st 2009 by Templeton Foundation Press ISBN1599471477 [...]

Faith, Psychology, and the Origins of God: Why do people believe?

From the Veritas Forum. Faith, Psychology, and the Origins of God: Why do people believe? Justin Barrett, Gordon Burghardt University of Tennessee 21 September 2011 Justin L. Barrett is senior researcher of the Centre for Anthropology and Mind and The Institute for Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology at Oxford University. Gordon Burghardt is Distinguished Service Professor [...]

Cognitive Dissonance

“COGNITIVE DISSONANCE” (noun, psychology) “Anxiety and existential discomfort that results from simultaneously holding contradictory or otherwise incompatible attitudes, beliefs.” “An uncomfortable mental state resulting from conflicting cognitions; usually resolved by changing or justifying some of the cognitions.” Dictionary.com   Cognitive dissonance is the tense feeling that occurs when we hold two equally valid, conflicting points [...]

Did My Neurons Make Me Do It – Prof Nancey Murphy

In August 2011, Prof Nancey Murphy undertook a speaking tour of eastern Australia on the subject of her book Did My Neurons Make Me Do It?: Philosophical and Neurobiological Perspectives on Moral Responsibility and Free Will. I was fortunate enough to attend her lecture in Brisbane, Queensland, delivered on Wednesday 27th August, 2011. Nancey Murphy [...]

Science and religion – is the gap widening?

From ABC Australia: The gulf between science and religion it seems has never been greater, new atheists hurl invective at believers, and fundamentalists dig deeper into their trenches. In between most simply gaze at the fireworks with bemusement. But to what extent is this sideshow a symptom of a deeper disconnect, one that should disturb [...]

William Lane Craig, Richard Dawkins & The Empty Chair

Before the Beginning

Our understanding of creation relies on the validity of the laws of physics, particularly quantum uncertainty. But that implies that the laws of physics were somehow encoded into the fabric of our universe before it existed. How can physical laws exist outside of space and time and without cause of their own? Or, to put [...]